A NOTE FROM NATHAN

Last night, Sandy Springs Christian Church hosted the fifth session of “One Book, One Read,” an interfaith study of, Caste, by Isabel Wilkerson. About fifty people from three synagogues and three churches gathered in the Whitmire Pavilion for food, fellowship and conversation. Next week we will conclude the six-week study at Holy Innocents Episcopal Church.

Whenever I participate in an interfaith study, I’m always reminded of how much more similar we are than different. Throughout this study, I have heard Jews and Christians alike express the same concerns for our world with regard to race relations in our country, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the ways in which COVID has negatively impacted our relationships with one another. Throughout the study, the commonly shared sentiment has been, “Can’t we just treat our neighbor as we would want to be treated?”

I suppose this should be no surprise given that this is a fundamental teaching of both Judaism and Christianity. However, I was also reminded this week, in an article by author, activist and theologian, Cameron Trimble, that this is true of all the world’s major religions. In fact, in her article, she cited verses from the sacred texts of these faith traditions, showing these similarities. I was so inspired by her list, we ended our time together last night, utilizing these in a responsive reading, as way of closing in prayer (see below).

On the one hand, I know we are all feeling discouraged in so many ways right now. It’s been hard to have hope in humanity not just in the last few weeks, but in the last couple of years. With all we have been through, it’s easy to become pessimistic and cynical. It’s easy to give up altogether.

On the other hand, as human beings living on this planet, we all want so many of the same things: health, safety, sufficient food, clean water and a world in which generations to come can enjoy the same. So, whenever you are feeling disheartened, I’d encourage you to turn to these verses and be reminded that no matter what the news might say, the truth is we are all more alike than we are different and, at the very least, people of faith are striving and hoping for the same things.

“In all things, do you to others what you would have others do to you; for this is the law and the prophets.” - Christianity, Matthew 7:12

“What is hateful to you, do not do to another. That is the entire Teaching; all the rest is commentary.” - Judaism, Talmud, Shabbat 31A

“Do nothing to others that you yourself would find hurtful.” – Buddhism, Udana-Varga 5,1

“Do not do to others what you do not want done to yourself.” – Confucianism, Analects 15:23

“This is the sum of duty: do not do to others that if done to you would cause you suffering.” - Hinduism, Mahabharata 5, 1517

“Treat all creatures in the world as you would like to be treated.” - Jainism, Sutrakritanga 1.11.33

“None of you is a believer until you desire for others that which you desire for yourself.” Islam, Hadith

“Regard your neighbor's gain as your gain, and your neighbor's loss as your loss.” - Taoism, Tai Shang Kan Yin Pien

“Do not do to others whatever is injurious to yourself.” - Zoroastrianism, Shayast-Na-Shayast 13:29

“Lay not on any soul a load that you would not wish to be laid upon you, and desire not for anyone the things you would not desire for yourself.” - Bahai, Gleanings

Peace,

Nathan

LENTEN SERMON SERIES

Facing DOUBT. Finding FAITH.

A Sermon Series for the Season of Lent

We all have doubts. They seem to be more frequent during times of crises -- which means many of us have had plenty the last couple of years. Does God actually exist? Are my prayers really heard? Why do bad things happen to good people? Is Jesus the ONLY way? Questions are not the enemy of faith. They are the path to a deeper faith. Let us journey the wilderness of this Lenten season, exploring our questions, that we might face our doubts and find a more meaningful faith. ~ Rev. Dr. Nathan C. Brown

Sunday, March 20, 2022 - Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People?

Luke 13:1-9

Sunday, March 27, 2022 - Does God Have a Pronoun Preference?

Luke 13:31-35

Sunday, April 3, 2022 - Is Jesus the Only Way?

Romans 9:1-5

NEWSLETTER SUBMISSION DEADLINE

If you have something for publishing in the newsletter next week, please submit it via email to: amy@sandyspringscc.org

by noon on Thursdays.

IMPORTANT DATES

TALENT SHOW AND AUCTION

For those of you who have made reservations and will be attending the talent show, we'll see you in Dunlap Hall after service this Sunday.

PLEASE NOTE! ALL AUCTION ITEMS MUST BE PAID FOR BY CASH OR CHECK (made payable to Campbell-Stone). Sorry, we don't have the capability to accept credit cards on their behalf.

SANDWICH MAKING

Immediately following service on Sunday, March 27th, the Outreach Team will conduct a sandwich making service project in Dunlap Hall. Please plan to stay a few extra minutes that Sunday. Many hands make light work!

TOWN HALL MEETING

On Sunday, April 3rd, we will have our quarterly Town Hall meeting. The meeting will take place in the sanctuary following service. We will be discussing some of the following topics:

1. Financial Report
2. Outreach Report
3. Visioning Report
4. The Day School Report
5. Sabbatical Committee Report

Childcare will be provided during the meeting, for those who wish to utilize it. We expect our time together will last approximately 30 - 45 minutes. We hope you can be part of this time together to learn more about the ministry of SSCC!

Join us Thursday, April 14, at 7:00 pm for our Maundy Thursday service in the sanctuary.

This year on Good Friday, April 15, we will have the stations of the cross here at the church. More details forthcoming.

EASTER SCHEDULE:

Sunday, April 16, 2022

7:00 am Sunrise Service in the Whitmire Pavilion

9:00 am Easter Breakfast in Dunlap Hall

9:45 am Easter Egg Hunt starts on the lawn and playground

10:15 am Traditional Easter Service in the sanctuary

SSCC NOTEABLES

NEW MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

Gayle Caswick

Gayle writes, "We joined the Diciples Church in Lafayette, Indiana in 1984. Jack Snellgrove baptized my son there in 1987. We moved to Seattle for seven years, then moved to the Atlanta area in 1994, at that time joining PCCC. I currently live north of downtown Roswell. I enjoy bridge, golf, outdoor activities, and time with my two children and two grandchildren."

NEW MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

Glen and Diane Giordano

Glen and Diane have been married 37 years. They have one daughter, Margo who lives in Los Angeles, CA. Glen is the national sales manager for a rug manufacturer and Diane is a commercial architect working on multi-family housing. Glen is from New York, Diane is from Jacksonville, FL. 

They met in Jacksonville, spent 10 years in Maplewood, NJ and then landed in East Cobb where they have been for the last 23 years. Diane is enthusiastic about traveling, but because of the pandemic has become a backyard birder. Having traveled for business for years, Glen is less than enthusiastic about traveling, but humors Diane who is trying to decide if the the next trip is to Chicago or Greece.

EASTER BRUNCH FOOD SIGN UP

On Easter Sunday we will be having a brunch for all. We are looking for volunteers to sign up to bring dishes, and beverages.

The sign up sheets are in the lobby. Please write your name in next to the item you will be bringing, and thank you for your help!

EASTER LILIES

For the next few Sundays, you will find an insert in your bulletin for donations for Easter Lilies. You can fill out this form to celebrate, honor or remember loved ones. Please note "Easter Lilies" on your check and designate if you wish to pick up your lilies on the form, and you may take it/them with you after Easter Services are complete.

In addition, you may click on the button below to sign up for lilies. You can mail in a check or CLICK HERE to enter a payment online.

Each of the Easter Service bulletins on April 17th will have an insert with all of the names of the honorees. 

THE EASTER BUNNY NEEDS YOUR HELP!

The Easter Bunny will make a guest appearance at our annual Easter Egg Hunt on Easter (April 17th) at 9:45 am. He let us know that he's going to be quite busy that morning and he needs your help! Our goal is to have 1,000 plastic eggs for our children to hunt that day. 

Pre-stuffed eggs with candy are the most helpful, but we also welcome candy or eggs and we'll stuff them here. Whatever you can do is greatly appreciated. Please have them in by April 13th. Thank you!

REMEMBERING NANCY McDANIEL'S MOM

Below is a letter from Landa Simmons, President and Chairman of the Rambo Committee, regarding the nursing scholarship that was started by the McDaniel's in honor of Nancy's mother, Marilyn Amann. Memorials given to SSCC in memory of Nancy's mother will be allocated to this scholarship fund. Thank you for remembering Mrs. Amann and for your generosity in assisting nursing students in Mungeli.

A Note from Landa Simmons

Dear Friends of the Rambo Committee and Christian Hospital Mungeli,

The Rambo Committee grieves the passing of Marilynn Reis Amann, the mother of Rambo’s previous Board President and Chair, Nancy McDaniel. Though Mrs. Amann never visited the Christian Hospital Mungeli, her presence will be felt there for years to come. Nancy visited Mungeli with her sister, Barbara Fulton, and her daughter, Molly, in 2008.

Nancy and her husband, Bryant, endowed a Nursing Scholarship in Marilynn's honor several years ago, and friends and family have been invited to contribute to that fund to honor Mrs. Amann’s lifetime of service as an RN and hospital volunteer. 

We give thanks for her life, her service, and the way her life will continue to bear witness as young nurses realize the gifts given to honor her legacy. May God bless the Amann family in their time of grief. 

Landa Simmons

President and Chairman

Rambo Committee, Inc.

landa@rambo.chmungeli.org

OUTREACH UPDATE

Outreach will serve on Saturday, March 19, at the Community Assistance Center located at 8607 Roswell Road, Sandy Springs, as they do every third Saturday.

Thrift Store Needs: King sheets, King comforters, Tablecloths, Light cotton blankets, Decorative pillows, Placemats, Washcloths, Small rugs 

Pantry Most Needed Items: Small Bottles of Cooking Oil, Dried beans (1lb. bag), Toiletries, Diapers (Size 2-5), Canned meats. They also need Shopping Bags - especially large ones. 

The CAC is also in need of Career Center and Client Interview volunteers. Contact George at careercenter@ourcac.org.

Please contact Cindi McCollough at 770-365-0365 with any questions. Thank you for giving your time to help our neighbors in need.

Several of you have asked for a copy of the Prayer Stations that Teddy Ivey set up for our Ash Wednesday service. Please CLICK HERE to view/download the pdf.

DONATE A DRESSER...

Spring is the perfect time to do some cleaning! Carmen Santiago is looking for a dresser for her daughter Demarise. If you have one that you were thinking about donating, please reach out to her. You can call her at 404.992.8219 or email Csantiago070@gmail.com. She lives very close to church, and might need help getting it to her apartment.

THANK YOU!

A big thank you is in order to Bruce and Leslie Lady for ordering and donating new Acolyte Tapers to the church!

LET'S RECYCLE!

As you know, SSCC has the designation of being a Green Chalice Church from the DOC. You may have noticed we have placed scratch pads in the pews for the artists in attendance (so offering envelopes don't get doodled on). In addition, we would appreciate recycling your bulletin and/or Welcome Card (if you didn't fill it out). We can actually reuse the Welcome Cards, saving not only trees, but money in copying costs.

We are still collecting aluminum can tabs (not steel like from soup cans) and paper & plastic bags for CAC. Thank you for your help!

SUNDAY SCHOOL CLASS UPDATES

PLEASE JOIN US!

Hello Modern Disciples! 

This Sunday please attend our class that will gather in the Conference Room at our normal time... 9:00-ish for socializing & refreshments then class begins around 9:15-ish. 

This Sunday, I will be leading the group on the last week of our discussion on chapter 6 from "The Walk" titled "The Five Practices from the Cross". No reading necessary to attend class… purely optional! There will be a video to watch to help you with Cliff-notes of the chapter. We'd love to see, pray, worship, study and serve with you on Sunday morning for socializing, learning, discussion, & refreshments before Sunday worship!

All the best,

Casey

SIX-WEEK STUDY

Please join the Pathfinders Class at 9:00 a.m. Sunday morning in the Common Ground Room. We are currently in a six-week study of Galatians, facilitated by John Mills, using the book, Now That Faith Has Come: A Study of Galatians (2020) by Beth Moore and Melissa Moore.

PRAYER REQUESTS

PRAYER REQUESTS AND THANK YOUs

Congratulations and prayers of thanksgiving for Casey Evans on his acceptance to the Georgia State University Master of Arts in Teaching program. He will begin this summer.

Pray for Jim Torbert after a small heath scare as they search for solutions.

Prayers for Jim Armstrong as he recovers from surgery.

Elizabeth Adrion requests prayers for her aunt, Becky Adrion, who recently took in a young child in need of a good home after a death in the family.

Please continue to pray for Bryant Hodgson as he continues rehab. Prayers for recovery and encouragement for good spirits are needed.

Prayers for Nancy McDaniel and family on the passing of her mother, Marilynn Amann. Nancy and Bryant established a nursing scholarship in her name for residents in rural Mungeli. If you would like to donate, you can give to the church (during service or online) in her memory and donations will be allocated to the scholarship fund (address listed in above article).

Cindi McCollough requests prayers for Phillip, who will undergo neck surgery soon.

Continued prayers for the perseverance of the people of Ukraine. 

Dottie Gill requests prayers for her dear friend Diane Lanier who lost her husband Lance to cancer.

Prayers for John Robeck as he continues to recover from a medical procedure.

Please pray for Stephen Brown as he recovers from surgery on his spine.

CLICK HERE to see the list of our first responders and military members who we continue to pray for.

If you have any prayer requests or joys to share, please contact Teddy Ivey, Director of Congregational Care via email: Teddy@sandyspringscc.org.

Bunny Steinmetz March 11

Shelton Blackburn March 12

James Richard Torbert March 13

Lauren Ivey March 18

Ann Walker March 19

Nathan Chimera March 21

Ryan Kahrs March 22

Dale Williamson March 23

Laura Campbell March 25

Emily Leek March 26

Denise Shipman March 26

Angela Brown March 28

Richard Walker March 28

Dennis Bramblett March 29

John Gilmore March 29

Harrison Brown March 31